Business Bavaria Newsletter

What‘s inside

Issue 04 | 2013

P a g e 1w w w. i n v e s t - i n - b a v a r i a . c o m

5 minutes with ...Wilhelm Friedl, Managing Director of

Zambelli based in Grafenau

Page 2

In focus: Technology transfer

Basis for Bavaria‘s rapid innovative cycle

Page 3

Bavaria in your briefcase

Towering traditions: May poles

Page 4

A highlight of the new site is the interactive map of Bavaria. With one click,

visitors can track the diff erent industries and clusters and navigate through 17

sectors, from automotive to logistics to nano-technology. The fi gures displayed

show the number of companies in a given sector. Potential investors can thus

compare the relative strengths of the Bavarian regions at a glance. The new web-

site also off ers a comprehensive overview of the extensive service spectrum of

Invest in Bavaria including various options to establish contact, current events,

tips and links to international communities in Bavaria.

News from us: Invest in Bavaria kicks off spring season with new

corporate design and extended web services

New Boarding House at the Martinsried Science and Business Campus supports

technology transfer in the biotech sector.

The new website www.invest-in-bavaria.com now provides a better search func-

tion for investors. With more intuitive navigation, image-rich presentation and

many interactive elements, the platform combines factual information about

the business location with an increase of awareness for the Bavarian way of life.

“Communication centre for research excellence”

In future, the world’s best biotech scientists will be able to use their stay in Bava-

ria even more eff ectively. Following two years of planning, State Minister Martin

Zeil broke ground for a boarding house at Campus Martinsried in mid-March. “A

beacon project in the true sense of the word is developing here”, commented Zeil

at the ceremony. “The building is a state-of-the-art communication centre for

cutting-edge research”.

Peter Hanns Zobel, Managing Director of the Innovations- und Gründerzentrum

Biotechnologie  Martinsried (IZB) is delighted that guest scientists will have easy

access to institutes and companies. The State Government has invested €4 mil-

lion into the project implemented by the IZB. The boarding house will off er 42

rooms to accommodate experts from neighbouring institutes and guests of the

IZB companies.

Today, the Martinsried Science and Business Campus is one of Europe’s largest

centres, combining basic research, clinical research and technology innovation

on one campus. Various academic institutions and the Max-Planck Institutes for

biochemistry and neurobiology can be found in close proximity to the IZB. The

Martinsried cluster symbolises the particularly intensive technology transfer in

Bavaria which results from the close interaction of research and development.

“The boarding house will fi t seamlessly into this close network of research and

business”, said Zeil.

The website additionally provides visual treats. The renowned director Joseph

Vilsmaier was hired to make Invest in Bavaria’s new PR fi lm “Bayern – Ihr Stand-

ort. Ihre Zukunft”. From the cinema hit “Bavaria – Traumreise durch Bayern”, he

extracted a short fi lm, which wins over viewers with unique aerial photos and

sequences from all the regions and conveys the identity and diversity of Bavaria

as a high tech economic powerhouse whilst also presenting its cultural and scenic

treasures. A 5 minute version of the fi lm can also be accessed via the Invest in

Bavaria Youtube Channel.

In keeping with the re-launch, Invest in Bavaria has a new logo as well. The image

shows a white and blue pin consisting of a ring of seven diamonds which repre-

sent the seven administrative districts. Also new is the “Investment Travel Guide“

which provides an overview of Bavaria’s outstanding economic performances and

advancement programmes alongside the various cultural and leisure activities on

off er in the diff erent districts.

IZB Martinsried

From 15 to 21 April 2013, the construction industry again meets for the 30th time

at bauma – the international trade fair for construction machinery, building ma-

terial machines, mining machines, construction vehicles and equipment. With a

total exhibition space of 555,000 square metres, it is the world’s largest fair in

terms of size. Last year, a total of 3,256 exhibitors from 53 countries and over

420,000 visitors from more than 200 countries attended.

The fair needs the huge space given the size of the enormous construction ma-

chines which will soon roll on to the premises. As a world leading fair, bauma

presents innovations from all over the globe in the form of four main themes: “All

around Construction Sites”, “Mining, Extraction and Processing of Raw Materials”,

“Production of Building Materials” and “Component and Service Suppliers”. This

year’s partner country is Indonesia which has planned infrastructure investments

of USD 465 billion by 2025 and so represents a great deal of business and invest-

ment potential.

For more than 50 years the name Zambelli has stood for finest metal work. The company manufactures roof drainage products, racking and metal roof systems

which are exported all over the world. Over 50 years, quality has always played a special role; an achievement which has now been crowned with the Bavarian

Quality Award.

Mr. Friedl, you just won the Bavarian Quality Award.

What is so exemplary about your approach? 

We strive to make our processes, products and ser-

vices as simple, reliable and customer-friendly as pos-

sible and constantly improve them. The award proves

that we are on the right track!

How important is the balance between tradition

and innovation for you? 

One of our mottos is: “Zambelli stands for vision

based on tradition”.  With many patents and innova-

tions the company founder and majority shareholder,

Franz Zambelli, laid the foundation for the successful

development of the company in various product areas

and the success of these products has been ensured

over the years.

How important is Bavaria as a location for Zambelli? 

As well as the three production sites in Lower Ba-

varia, Zambelli has another six facilities in the Czech

Republic, Hungary, Romania, Austria and Italy.  The

Bavarian sites form the so called headquarters for our

four product sectors of roof drainage, RIB ROOF, rack-

ing systems and industrial metal machining – even

for the foreign locations. Strategic decisions are made

here and developments as well as enhancements of

our products are promoted. Bavaria is essential to us,

above all for the highly qualified and motivated em-

ployees, who are the foundation for the success of the

entire group.

Is Bavaria therefore a particularly suitable region for

implementing innovative ideas? 

As already mentioned, when it comes to the imple-

mentation of innovative ideas we have firmly put

our faith in our highly trained and qualified em-

ployees. We benefit immensely from the networks

available in Bavaria, such as the Freyung Technolo-

gy Campus, the University of Deggendorf and many

other institutions.

P a g e 2w w w. i n v e s t - i n - b a v a r i a . c o m

When was Zambelli founded, by whom and why? 

Zambelli started as a workshop for church restora-

tion set up by Franz Zambelli in  Haus im Wald near

Grafenau in 1957. Today, it has grown into an industrial

company with about 900 employees. One of the char-

acteristics is that, despite the international nature of

the business, the structure of a typical Bavarian family

company has survived.   

You are the MD at Zambelli. Do you have time to en-

joy our beautiful Bavaria?

I am jointly responsible for the RIB ROOF division

in our entrepreneurial group which, of course, also

means that I travel a lot. But in my homeland, the Ba-

varian Forest, where others spend their holidays and

look to recover, I find the necessary peace and can re-

charge for the daily challenges.  

Numberof the month 555,000

Wilhelm Friedl,

Managing Director of Zambelli based in Grafenau

Hauptbahnhof Wien

5 minutes with ...

P a g e 3w w w. i n v e s t - i n - b a v a r i a . c o m

Many scientific institutions co-operate closely with businesses in Bavaria to en-

sure that research innovations can be translated to economic success.

Bavaria’s innovation engine is humming even during the euro crisis. Last year, no

other Federal State had more patents filed by companies and private inventors than

the State of Bavaria. This is evident from figures published in mid-March by the Ger-

man Patent and Trademark Office in Munich. With a total of 14,340 patent appli-

cations filed, Bavaria has ousted Baden-Wuerttemberg from first place for the first

time since 2006. Nearly one in four German patents came from the southernmost

Federal State.

On presenting the statistics, the President of the Patent Office, Cornelia Rudloff

Schäffer commented, “This rapid innovative cycle indicates that German SMEs do not

rest on their laurels”. In 2012, the number of the applications filed in Bavaria increased

by a remarkable 4.5% on the previous year.

Bavaria’s inventiveness cannot be taken for granted though. In order to deliver a wide

range of product innovations or new technologies, there needs to be close interaction

between public and private research. There is probably no other region in Germany

where universities and other research establishments are as well interconnected with

businesses as in Bavaria.

Over the past two decades the state government has poured billions earned from

privatisations into the development of the Bavarian research landscape. Numerous

clusters, for instance, in the medical technology or automotive sector, bundle com-

petence and research means in the southernmost Federal State. Institutions, like the

“Haus der Forschung” (House of Research) or a number of technology and business

incubators, created specifically by the state government, advise and support com-

panies willing to invest in research and development. As part of its cluster initiative,

the state government also continues to invest considerable sums in the promotion of

state-wide networks between enterprises, research establishments, service provid-

ers and financiers.

Bavaria currently attracts companies with 19 clusters in fields such as material de-

velopment, human and environmental research, information and electronic techno-

logy as well as services and media. The clusters drive growth not only in research,

but also when it comes to job creation. In Munich’s Martinsried alone, about 3,000

people work in the biotech cluster. Owing to the innovation-friendly climate around

the Munich biotech network, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has just substan-

tially expanded its site in the Upper Bavarian Penzberg. From the end of 2014, ac-

tive agents for immunological tests will be produced there. At the ceremony to break

ground for the extension in March, the head of the group, Franz B. Humer, praised

the existing infrastructure as being unique. “Bioparks like in Regensburg or Martin-

sried near Munich provide for close links between business and research”, adds Jürgen

Schmude, Professor for economic geography at LMU Munich.

In the “New Materials” cluster, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute are working

with the industry to find particularly light materials for the automotive sector. The

goal is to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles. “The question

of which material is used to a large extent depends on its economic viability”, explains

Professor Rudolf Stauber, spokesperson for the “New Materials” cluster.

Another successful technology transfer example is the Technologie Centrum

Westbayern in Nördlingen. The Swabian research complex consists of an “Inno-

vation and Incubation Centre”, an “ICT Centre of Excellence” as well as a “R&D

Application Centre”.

In joint projects with its private sector customers, the researchers there develop

new procedures, components and products. The centre cooperates closely with the

University of Augsburg and forms the heart of a “Process Automation Cluster”. The

group bundles activities in technology and human resources development, joint pro-

curement and is setting up supplier and partner networks as well.

More than 100 institutions and research establishments provide their expertise to

the Bavarian Technology Transfer group (TT). With different areas of focus and ser-

vices, they utilise their years of experience and close links within the region during

the consulting process. Members of the TT network include Bavaria’s Universities

and Universities for Applied Sciences, the Chambers of Commerce and various non-

academic research establishments, such as the Fraunhofer Institutes. As an example,

the state-funded Fortiss GmbH together with a number of renowned research part-

ners is developing a new system architecture for electric cars.

The Haus der Forschung, created by of the state government in 2010, plays a central

role in the promotion of innovative companies. It supports companies based in Ba-

varia with the promotion of their technology. Since it was set up, over 140 employees

have advised more than 1,000 companies on how to navigate red tape to acquire

funding from federal or EU sources with matched research applications. Once again,

the exemplary networking of science, business and public institutions pays off here

as there are four partners who cooperate as part of the Haus der Forschung: Bayer-

ische Forschungsallianz (BayFOR), Bayerische Forschungsstiftung, Bayern Innovativ

and the Innovations und Technologiezentrum Bayern (ITZB) work under one roof at

Nuremberg’s Gewerbemuseumsplatz as well as at Prinzregentenstraße in Munich.

In focus: Technology transfer is the key Bavaria’s rapid innovative cycle is based on sound reasons

P a g e 4w w w. i n v e s t - i n - b a v a r i a . c o m

The seemingly archaic raising the Maypole ceremony is a custom passionately

upheld even in this high-tech age.

Fairs & Events

Image sources

P. 1: © IZB Martinsried | P. 2: © Zambelli

P. 3: © www.thinkstockphotos.de | P. 4: © www.thinkstockphotos.de

Your key to our state

Invest in Bavaria – The Business Promotion Agency of the Bavarian Ministry of

Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology and Bayern International.

Publisher

Dr. Johann Niggl

Prinzregentenstr. 28

80538 Munich | Germany

Phone +49 89 24210-7500

welcome@invest-in-bavaria.com

Business Bavaria

Coordination: Alexandra Schmidhuber

Editorial Department: www.textbau.com

Translation: www.translate-me.info

Art Direction | Web: Alex Podolay

Layout: www.treib-stoff.com

Towering tradition

Bavaria in your briefcase

On 1 May, it‘s that time again: In nearly every Bavarian village and municipality,

from the Allgäu, Lower Bavaria to Lower Franconia, an old custom is alive and well.

It is a tradition that has been rooted across the entire state for centuries – raising

the Maypole. It is a big event for many communities, generating a genuine contest

among neighbouring villages and towns and is based on the motto: higher, bigger

and more beautiful. The poles are sometimes over 30 metres tall and splendidly

decorated and adorned.

In accordance with the custom which spread throughout Bavaria in the 16th Centu-

ry, the pole is erected in the so-called „Freinacht“ from 30 April to 1 May. The May-

pole is an impressive work of art which towers into the sky and is decorated with

wreaths, flags, ribbons and usually valuable, hand-made guild crests of the village.

In many places, erecting the Maypole is celebrated by the entire village with a fes-

tival which features bands, traditional costumes and shooting clubs. Young men

usually display particular ambition and creativity when it comes to stealing the

neighbouring Maypole. Those who succeed can look forward to a ransom — usually

in the form of copious amounts of beer and food — that the other village has to

pay to get its pole back. Should the ransom not be paid, the stolen pole is put up

as a “tree of shame” alongside their own pole and in line with tradition, is painted

black and decorated with chicken feathers.

The Passau region also features the so-called „Maibaumkraxeln“, where in Rotten-

stuben for instance, young men put pitch on their feet, spit into their hands and

climb up the pole.

www.bayern.by

www.allgaeu-erleben.com

… in Munich

bauma 2013

15 – 21 April 2013

30th International Trade Fair for Cons-

truction Machinery, Building Material

Machines, Mining Machines, Construction

Vehicles and Construction Equipment

www.bauma.de/en/home.php

High End 2013

09 – 12 May 2013

Europe’s Largest Entertainment Electronics Fair

www.highendsociety.de/index.php/

highend-society-english.html

LASER World of PHOTONICS 2013

13 – 16 May 2013

21st World’s Leading Fair and Congress for

Optical Technology Components, Systems

and Applications

http://world-of-photonics.net/en/laser/start

… in Nuremberg

Powtech

23 – 25 April 2013

International Trade Fair for Mechani-

cal Processing Technologies and Instru-

mentation

http://www.powtech.de/en/

TechnoPharm

TechnoPharm

23 – 25 April 2013

International Trade Fair for Life Science

Process Technologies

www.technopharm.de/en

Sensor + Test

14 – 16 May 2013

International Trade Fair for Measuring,

Testing, and Monitoring Tasks

www.sensor-test.de/welcome-to-the-

measurement-fair-sensor-test-2013

… by and with Invest in Bavaria

Invest in Bavaria invites to a French-German round table at BAUMA

on 17 April 2013 at 5 pm in the Restaurant Seeblick | Fairground

Messe München

Invest in Bavaria at sensor + test

Get-together with location marketing and networking event with

the Sensorik cluster

14 – 16 May 2013 in Nuremberg | Bavaria      

Your contact for both meetings:

Meike Jäckel | Phone: +49 89 24210-7512

meike.jaeckel@invest-in-bavaria.com