Of elementary importance for our future
The chemicals industry is one of the key drivers for innovation in German industry.
Nine percent of the entire R&D expenditure of German industry goes into
the chemicals industry. Accounting for five percent of sales revenue the R&D
share of the chemicals industry in Germany is well above the global average
of 3.8 percent. The chemicals industry is by far the most important supplier
of new materials and establishes the basis for new products and processes in
many other sectors as well.
Bavaria is well positioned globally
The Bavarian chemicals industry is well positioned on a global scale and highly
innovative. Within Germany Bavaria is the third largest chemicals location employing
13,7 percent of the sector’s workforce. Global players such as Wacker
Chemie and SĂĽd-Chemie
have their headquarters in Bavaria; Degussa,
BASF, Clariant
and Ciba Spezialitätenchemie
operate research facilities and production plants at this location. Along with
some 250 SMEs these symbolize the global integration of the Bavarian chemicals
industry, where the export share of 48 percent is well above the average of
the Bavarian industry as a whole.
In Bavaria the composition is right
Chemicals are one of the key sectors of the Bavarian industry with a workforce
of 59,000 employees and sales in excess of 13 billion euro. Boasting a broad
range of products the companies here cover virtually the entire chemicals spectrum.
There is a focus on the division of pharmacy specialties, primary plastics,
paints, lacquers and adhesive cements, body care products as well as chemical
fibers.
The petrochemical industry on propylene and ethylene basis
is concentrated around MĂĽnchsmĂĽnster near Ingolstadt, Burghausen and Burgkirchen/Gendorf.
Crackers of OMV in Burghausen
and BP/Ruhr Oel in MĂĽnchsmĂĽnster
are linked via pipelines to their customers at these three sites. Buyers include
manufacturers of plastics such as Basell,
Borealis
and Vinnolit as well as
manufacturers of a diversified range of special products, like Wacker
Chemie AG and Clariant
GmbH.
Bavaria is a hub for the chemical fiber industry in Germany,
boasting a share of approximately 40 percent of sales and the workforce. Companies
like Trevira, Invista,
Johns Manville and Teijin
Monofilament at the Bobingen location, Cordenka,
Diolen
Industrial Fibers and Polyamide
High Performance at Obernburg, as well as Kelheim
Fibres or Textilwerke
Deggendorf develop, manufacture and process special fibers for a wide application
field ranging from the fashion world up to the high-tech sector. The development
and production of finishing agents (textile auxiliaries) is closely linked with
the production and processing of chemical fibers. Bavaria is home to internationally
leading companies such as Dr.
Th. Böhme KG and Rudolf
Chemie GmbH, or like Ciba Spezialitätenchemie Pfersee GmbH which has established
core competences here in Bavaria with its R&D Center of Excellence and production.
In construction chemicals German companies account for approximately
half of the European market volume and a third of the world market. Market and
technology leaders either have their headquarters in Bavaria or have their main
divisions in construction chemicals based here – like the global players in
chemical manufacturing Degussa
AG and Wacker Chemie AG.
At the “formulator” level - manufactures of cement, mortar, paints, it is mid-sized
structures that dominate the scene with companies like PCI
Augsburg GmbH or Otto-Chemie.
Also at this level Bavarian-based companies such as Keimfarben
GmbH & Co. KG which is the global leader in silicate paint technology
or Knauf Bauprodukte GmbH
as one of the leading companies in the field of construction materials (gypsum,
mineral fiber insulating material) occupy top international positions in their
respective market segments.
Market and partners in the chemicals sector
Almost 80% of total sales in the chemicals industry are in the form of pre-products
for enterprises from virtually all branches of industry. Key buyers are from
the sectors of plastics processing, automotive engineering, paper/print, pharmaceuticals,
textiles/clothing/leather, mechanical engineering and from the construction
industry. In these sectors companies from Bavaria also rank among the market
and technology leaders.
Special-topic cooperation platforms of Bayern
Innovativ GmbH – in the „New
Materials“ sector for example, are able to relay excellent contacts to companies
of the chemicals industry in these application fields. Innovation networks featuring
symposiums and cooperation forums are organized for the sectors of Automotive
component suppliers, Electronics/microtechnology,
textiles, environmental
technology, life sciences
and medical technology/pharmaceuticals
among others.
Attractive research environment for the chemicals industry
Industrial research:
Nearly all chemical companies maintain own research and development capacities
at their Bavarian sites. Centers of particular importance are the “Consortium
for electrochemical industry” of Wacker Chemie AG in Munich, the central
research department of SĂĽd-Chemie
AG in Heufeld as well as the “Construction
Chemicals Center of Excellence” of Degussa AG in Trostberg. The matchmaking
meetings “Themenbörse
Forschung“ (PDF) organized by the Bavarian
Chemical Associations are aimed at expanding the cooperation with Bavarian
universities and universities of applied sciences.
University institutions
Chemistry is well represented at Bavarian universities, both in terms of scope
and excellence. There are faculties and chairs of chemistry in six Bavarian
universities. The Munich Technical University TUM is in the top league for chemistry
in international rankings (ISI rating, CEST ranking):
- University
of Augsburg: 2 Chairs; key subjects: solid-state chemistry, materials
sciences and chemical physics
-
Universität Bayreuth: 10 Chairs and 6 professorships; key subjects: macromolecular
and colloid research, new materials a well as molecular biosciences
- Friedrich-Alexander
University Erlangen-Nuremberg: 3 institutes and 7 Chairs; key subjects:
materials and processes including the special research sector “Redoxactive
Metal complexes – reactivity control through molecular architectures“
- Ludwig-Maximilans-University
Munich: 23 professorships and 24 further study groups with a broad research
spectrum
- Technical University
Munich: 17 Chairs and 9 professorships ; key subjects: “Catalysis and
materials“ as well as “Biological Chemistry“
- University
of Regensburg: 4 Institutes with 6 Chairs and 13 study groups ; key subjects:
medical chemistry and New Materials on the basis of weak bonding forces
- Julius-Maximilians-University
WĂĽrzburg: 11 Chairs and 17 further study groups; key subjects: biological
and medicinal chemistry, physical chemistry, organometallic chemistry, dynamic
chemical systems and high resolution spectroscopy.
In the universities of applied sciences (FH), besides the Georg-Simon-Ohm University
of Applied Sciences in Nuremberg with the Departments
of Applied Chemistry and
Materials
also the following universities excel in competence in the field of chemical
research:
Non-university research institutions
The following non-university research and development institutions focus on
chemicals:
Well-qualified workforce for the Chemicals sector
Bavaria has a strong potential of excellently trained and highly motivated
manpower. The Bavarian universities not only have internationally renowned research
institutions in the field of chemistry, but also turn out excellently trained
scientific specialists.
In the commercial sector the chemicals industry in Bavaria is currently offering
qualified training to over 2,000 young people in approximately 125 plants. The
vocational training opportunities range from the typical professions in the
chemicals industry, such as chemical worker or chemical laboratory technician
to a host of training courses in the commercial and industrial-technical sector.
The Bavarian
Chemical Associations have compiled these vocational possibilities in a
Brochure
(PDF).
A possible alternative to training in the chemical plants is the option of
attending a course in the Chemistry School of Dr.
Erwin Elhardt in Munich, which offers training courses for chemical-technical
assistants (key subject biochemistry / food chemistry / environmental analytics
and technology). A training course leading up to biological-technical assistant
is also available at the vocational school for biological technical assistants
(Berufsfachschule
fĂĽr biologisch-technische Assistenten) of the service group LGA in Nuremberg.
Beyond this, there is an extensive program of further and advanced training
possibilities available in Bavaria for the workforce of the chemicals industry.:
Optimum environment
Chemical parks like the ones in Gendorf,
Gersthofen,
Bobingen or MĂĽnchsmĂĽnster help start-up companies get off to a good start in
their own research, development and production. They provide infrastructure
facilities and services, from training and further training to analytics, facility
management, personnel office, environmental protection up to the supply of energy
and water. The Mainsite
GmbH & Co KG, site operator of the Obernburg Industrial Center, for
example, offers young start-ups with innovative business concepts the free use
of office, laboratory, production warehouse and open space in their “Plug and
Play!“ scheme, in exchange for a share in the business idea.
For the ethylene based petrochemical sector new growth opportunities will be
available in Bavaria from 2007/2008 as a result of the “Ethylene
pipeline South“ from Münchsmünster to Ludwigshafen. Through the connection
to the ethylene pipeline network in the Benelux and along the Rhine the supply
of ethylene in Bavaria will be more flexible and secured in the long term. The
EPS will also open up the option for the connection of further ethylene sites
in Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Rumania and the Ukraine.
Bavarian initiatives and programs in the chemicals sector
Technology
support provided by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure,
Transport and Technology is focused on helping start-ups as well as small and
medium-sized companies. The New
Materials (PDF) program concentrates particularly on the development of
new materials (metallic materials, polymer materials and glass as well as compound
materials) and their implementation into new products.
Bavaria’s chemicals locations
The Bavarian
Chemicals Triangle is the largest spatial agglomeration of the chemicals
industry in Bavaria with some 17,000 employees in the chemicals sector and a
further 8,000 persons employed in the associated industrial and service sector.
In the economic region between the rivers Inn und Salzach (www.innotech-bay.de),
with the county districts of Altötting (sites in Burghausen and Industrial Park
Werk Gendorf (www.gendorf.de), Mühldorf am Inn (sites in Aschau, Töging, Waldkraiburg)
and Traunstein (Trostberg), there is a concentration of a good quarter of the
Bavarian jobs in the chemicals industry and a good third of Bavaria’s revenue
in chemicals is generated here. Key sections are petrochemicals, plastics, ultra-pure
silicon, construction chemicals as well as special chemical products.
The chemicals industry has established additional, smaller spatial agglomerations
in the regions – some of which are in the form of integrated chemical parks.
- Munich / Starnberg / Weilheim (Pharmaceuticals, special chemical products)
- Ingolstadt / MĂĽnchsmĂĽnster
/ Kelheim (Petrochemicals, chemical fibers)
- Augsburg (Chemical fibers, special chemical products, paints), including
the industrial parks of Gersthofen
and Bobingen
- Nuremberg/Erlangen (Pharmaceuticals, paints, special chemical products)
- Bayerischer Untermain/county district of Miltenberg (Chemical fibers, plastics)
with the Obernburg Industrial Center (Industriecenter
Obernburg)
Information material
In the database "Key Technologies in Bavaria" you will find information on companies in Bavaria operating in the chemicals sector.
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