1. BUSINESS BAVARIA The Business Promotion Agency of the State of Bavaria
EDITION 01/02 | 2012
WHATS INSIDE
5 MINUTES WITH
Wolfgang Jess,
Managing Director of Josef Witt GmbH
Page 2
IN FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE BAVARIA
Automotive Innovations
Page 3
BAVARIA IN YOUR BRIEFCASE
Bavaria‘s Colourful Customs:
Carnivalistic Diversity
Page 4
EMBEDDED COMMUNITY MEETS IN This year’s focus at the Embedded World is M2M communications, aka
machine to machine communications. The objective of this sub-division of
FRANCONIA embedded systems is to link machines and devices so that that they can ex-
change data without human intervention, for example, to monitor patients or
This year, the world’s biggest embedded systems trade fair is locate machines and devices. Another highlight will be the Electronic Displays
again expected to attract approximately 20,000 professionals from Conference, which is the most important European platform for display tech-
all over the world to Nuremberg: From 28 February to 1 March 2012, nologies.
more than 800 exhibitors will present their technical innovations at
the 10th “Embedded World Exhibitions & Conference”. www.embedded-world.de/en
Once again, Bavaria will be the most important international meeting point
for a future industry and the driving force for further developments. “The Em-
bedded World is the leading fair in embedded systems worldwide”, com- SMART GRID CITY – THE POWER
ments Robert Stabl, Managing Director of the IT Cluster Bayern initiative.
The embedded systems sector is considered an indispensable future field by NETWORK OF THE FUTURE
the entire industry. According to Stabl, “Bavaria is an international pioneer
in this field”. The Free State is known as a centre of trend-setting system Bavaria is driving the transformation in energy policy with investments in re-
developments, which are utilised across many areas. Examples include the newable energy. As part of the ‘Aufbruch Bayern’ future initiative, the ‘Smart
automotive industry, decentralised medical support systems, aviation and Grid City’ model project has been set up in the Upper-Franconian towns of Hof
space technology, machine and plant engineering, as well as the power supply and the neighbouring Arzberg. The state government has assigned experts
sector in the context of smart grid applications. to develop new methods for storing energy and stabilising the power grid.
The whole programme is worth seven million euros. The Energie Campus in
Whether in washing machines, parking guidance systems or mobile phones - Nuremberg, which was contracted to optimise the decentralised supply of
embedded systems perform essential functions in almost any electronic photovoltaic energy to the power grid, is the scientific partner for the project.
device. As control centres in technical systems, they can process data and
signals, monitor and control processes, as well as encode and decode data. For the Upper-Franconia region, which can also showcase key competencies
These small electronic elements allow electronic devices to perform new in environmental and water technology, the renewable energy research pro-
functions; for example, in drive assistance systems, machine controls and ject constitutes yet another important milestone on the path towards future
medical instruments. technologies.
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2. 5 MINUTES WITH ...
YOU REPRESENT A CLASSICAL CATALOGUE-BASED MAIL-ORDER COM-
PANY. WHAT ROLE DOES THE INTERNET PLAY FOR YOU TODAY?
Currently, the Witt group is represented by 16 websites, both on a national
and international level; the demand is clearly rising in all areas of activity.
Our websites are still being predominantly used as order channels; i. e., our
customers make a decision based on our catalogues, find out about the delivery
status of their orders online and use the shop to get additional inspiration.
However, we assume that in the future, ever more purchase decisions will be
purely internet-based.
WHAT IS A FUTURE MARKET ‘50 PLUS‘ CUSTOMER TYPICALLY LOOKING
FOR?
The 50 plus customer expects well targeted fashion, a good cost-to-performance
ratio, as well as friendly and personal service. In the future, this will mean we will
have to meet the high expectations of our customers in all sales channels equally -
catalogue, internet and shops.
THE HISTORY OF MAIL-ORDER COMPANIES IN GERMANY IS DOMI-
NATED BY BIG PLAYERS. HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO RETAIN COM-
PETITIVENESS IN THIS ENVIRONMENT?
WOLFGANG JESS, The industry‘s major players have shaped the market for quite a while, but the
recent winners are enterprises like the Witt group, which have consistently
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF JOSEF WITT GMBH specialised in a target group or specific market segment.
The Josef Witt group is among the leading fashion mail-order compa- HOW DO YOU ORGANISE THE DISPATCH OF UP TO 75,000 ARTICLES
nies in the future market, targeting the ’50 plus clients‘ in Europe. It is PER DAY?
a company with quite a history: In over a hundred years, the one-man This requires a lot of experience, good IT systems, a modern logistics infra-
operation has developed into an international company with approxi- structure and, above all, motivated employees.
mately 2,400 employees.
HOW IMPORTANT IS BAVARIA AS AN ECONOMIC LOCATION FOR
HOW MANY CATALOGUES DO YOU ACTUALLY PUBLISH? YOU?
We print approx. 260 catalogues per year; in addition to the two main cata- Weiden, in the Upper Palatinate district, has been our headquarter for more
logues for the WITT Weiden brand with about 500 pages, the others feature than a 100 years. We are firmly rooted in the region and do not just consider
between 120 and 160 pages. this a historical basis of our success in the past, but also as the key to our
future performance.
www.witt-weiden.de
35.337 EURO
NUMBER
OF THE
MONTH
Bavaria is among to the world’s most powerful economic markets. the number of inhabitants, this equates to a per capita performance of
With a gross domestic product of EUR 442.4 billion in 2010, Bavaria EUR 35,337. Bavaria is thus clearly above the European average – way
outranks 20 of the 27 European Union member states. Converted to ahead of Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain.
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3. IN FOCUS: EMBEDDED SYSTEMS, AUTOMOTIVE
THE CAR THAT THINKS FOR ITSELF
The proximity to the Alps, a dense network of suppliers and optimal
logistics: Bavaria – as the cradle of global players Adidas and Puma –
offers many attractions to sports companies. National as well as inter-
national enterprises from the industry are moving to the Free State and
from there are developing the latest trends and innovations.
Embedded Systems have led to major innovations in automobile manu- With its innovation and knowledge transfer company, Bayern Innovativ, the
facturing. The Free State is considered the cradle of recent market de- network Bavarian Innovation and Cooperation Initiative Automotive Supply
velopments - not least due to its strong economy. Industry - aka BAIKA - and the Cluster Automotive, the Free State strengthens
and promotes collaboration in business and academia.
A car receives data from a traffic light 500 metres ahead, which has just
changed to red. An electricity meter automatically sends readings to the local As a member of the BAIKA network, the Munich-based Protos Software
public utilities provider from the basement of a house. What, to the layperson, GmbH, founded in 1996, develops tools and applications for complex em-
might still seem to lie very much in the future, has already become reality bedded systems. Among its customers are BMW, for whom it develops the
in business and academia. Embedded systems drive future innovations and software architecture for electrical systems and ECU tests. Timing Architects,
economic success. The automotive industry, in particular, can no longer do based in Regensburg, creates software for embedded systems focusing on
without microprocessors. “Embedded systems play an ever increasing role, solutions with multi-core processors which have particularly short reaction
especially in car infotainment.”, states Andreas Böhm, Project Manager of the times, such as airbag release systems in vehicles.
Automotive Cluster Bayern. In future, research will focus on improving the inter-
connectivity between autonomous systems and on the development of so- It is no surprise that Bavaria is way ahead of the worldwide competition,
called ‘cyber physical systems’. Motorists will soon be able to, for example, when it comes to embedded systems in the automotive industry. With a work-
avoid congestion or accidents by receiving information from other cars and force of over 182,000 people and a turnover of EUR 92.8 billion, the automo-
real-time updates on traffic conditions. “This constitutes a paradigm shift”, tive industry is one of the most important columns of the Bavarian economy.
comments Robert Stabl, Managing Director of the IT Cluster Bayern. “The Numerous renowned car manufacturers are based in the Free State, as are
systems will be able to handle several tasks at once and interact with each their suppliers. “Demand is simply there.”, adds Robert Stabl. And there is
other.” another thing he is sure of: “It will continue to rise”.
It is not very difficult to find innovative companies in Bavaria. The Free State www.bayern-innovativ.de
of Bavaria is considered one of the most important locations for the advance- www.protos.de/index.php/en
ment of these systems. Numerous scientific institutions, such as the Fraun- www.cluster-bayern.de
hofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) in Erlangen and the Institute for
Computer Science of the Technical University of Munich are based here. In the
summer of 2011, the Free State invited over 100 experts to attend a meeting
to discuss innovations in embedded systems for the Bavarian innovation and
cooperation initiative Electronics / Microelectronics (BAIKEM).
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4. BAVARIA IN YOUR BRIEFCASE
CARNIVAL – BAVARIA’S COLOURFUL CUSTOMS
Dietfurt, to collect tax debts. It was a trip in vain, because the locals refused
to let him enter. On his return he grumbled to the bishop that the people in Diet-
furt were like the Chinese - they were taking refuge behind their Great Wall.
At Munich’s Marienplatz, the coopers (Schäffler) can be admired year in, year
out as figures dancing around the Glockenspiel. However, in the flesh Mu-
nich’s barrel manufacturers only appear every seven years to perform their
traditional round dances with green leaved hoops. This year, the Schäffler
will again be performing their traditional dances in and around Munich until
21 February 2012 . Their distinctive costume consists of green cap, red jacket,
black breeches and leather apron. The legendary dance was developed in
1517, when a brave Schäffler wanted to rid people of their fear of the plague.
Chinese Fasching in Dietfurt
The plan worked, as he managed to lure people back onto the streets with
cheerful dance steps, merry sounds and the help of his guild colleagues. Pub-
Fasching, Fasenet, Foscheng, Foosenoocht – there are numerous vari- lic life was reinvigorated and returned to normal soon after.
ations of the term carnival and many regional traditions within the Free
State.
“Killewau, Killewau” - is the phrase you will hear in Dietfurt on the so-called CHINESE FASCHING, UNSINNIGER DONNERSTAG
‘Unsinniger Donnerstag’. It is a tribute to His Imperial Carnival Highness ‘Ko- 16 Feb. 2012 | 2:01 pm | Dietfurt
Houang-Di’, the regent and master of ceremony of the carnivalistic commu- www.dietfurt.de/chinesenfasching/
nity. Since 1928, everything in this Upper-Palatinate town at the Altmühl river
has been about China, during the carnival. That‘s why it is also known as Ba- SCHÄFFLERTANZ (COOPER‘S DANCE)
varia’s China. Thousands of visitors fill the local streets every year with coolie Shrove Tuesday | 21 Feb. 2012 | 8 pm | Marienplatz Munich
hats, fake beards and shining silk costumes. The Asian scenery is based on a Last Dance of the Season
medieval legend: the bishop of Eichstätt is said to have sent his treasurer to www.muenchen.de/int/en
FAIRS AND EVENTS
... IN MUNICH ... IN NUREMBERG … BY AND WITH INVEST IN BAVARIA
F.RE.E BIOFACH & VIVANESS INVEST IN BAVARIA ON THE BUSINESS CONFERENCE
22 – 26 FEB. 2012 15 – 18 FEB. 2012 FICCI – FRAMES “BAYERN ÖFFNET TÜREN FÜR
Fair for Leisure and Travel Worldwide leading trade fairs for 14 – 16 March 2012 in Mumbai, POLNISCHE UNTERNEHMEN“
www.free-muenchen.de/en/Home bio products, natural cosmetics and India 05 March 2012 in Warsaw, Poland
wellness
IOMT www.biofach.de/en INVEST IN BAVARIA ON THE MANAGING DIRECTOR’S MEET-
17 – 19 FEB. 2012 www.vivaness.de/en MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS ING OF RUSSIAN COMPA-
International Motor Cycle Exhibition 27 Feb. – 01 March 2012 in NIES AND SUBSIDIARIES IN
www.imot.de EMBEDDED WORLD Barcelona, Spain BAVARIA
28 FEB. – 01 MAR 2012 14 March 2012 in Munich
Biggest expert fair for embedded
technologies Your contact for both events: Your contact for both events:
www.embedded-world.de/en Peter Englert Svetlana Huber
Phone: +49 89 24210 7520 Phone: +49 89 24210 7505
peter.englert@invest-in-bavaria.com svetlana.huber@invest-in-bavaria.com
YOUR KEY TO OUR STATE PUBLISHER BUSINESS BAVARIA
Invest in Bavaria – The Business Promotion Agency of the Bavarian Ministry of DR. JOHANN NIGGL COORDINATION: ALEXANDRA SCHMIDHUBER
Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology and Bayern International. PRINZREGENTENSTR. 28 EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT: WWW.TEXTBAU.COM
80538 MÜNCHEN TRANSLATION: WWW.TRANSLATE-ME.INFO
IMAGE SOURCES P. 1: itestro - Fotolia.com | P. 2: www.witt-gruppe.eu | PHONE.: +49 89 24210-7500 ART DIRECTION | INTERNET: ALEX PODOLAY
P.3: © BMW AG | P. 4: City of Dietfurt a.d.Altmühl FAX: +49 89 24210-7557 DESIGN: WWW.TREIB-STOFF.COM
INFO@INVEST-IN-BAVARIA.COM
W W W. I N V E S T- I N - B A V A R I A . C O M PA G E 4