The MRN benefits from the immediate proximity of two clusters in the automobile industry, which complement each other ideally:
The RhineMainNeckar Automotive cluster
The automobile industry is one of the key industries in the Rhine-Main-Neckar region and can look back on a long tradition. Companies represented here include Adam Opel GmbH, MAN SE, Lear Corporation GmbH & Co. KG, Siemens AG and Pirelli Deutschland GmbH. 23,000 people are directly employed in the automobile and parts manufacturing industry in South Hesse alone. Almost every fourth employee in South Hesse works in the automobile sector.
The logical consequence was to pool these areas of expertise, culminating in the establishment of the RhineMainNeckar Automotive cluster in 2003. The driving forces behind this project were the Darmstadt Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Gross-Gerau local authority. The cluster bundles the areas of expertise of specialised companies from the automobile supplier industry, and acts as a coordinator and moderator between the individual partners in the automobile network. This means that strong alliances enable specialists to be transformed back into generalists again who provide excellent services for the entire value added chain.
The RhineMainNeckar Automotive cluster is involved in the EU project "Transnational Clustering in the Automotive Sector (TCAS)", which networks the European-wide expertise of automotive clusters. The EU awarded the automotive cluster the title of "Europe INNOVA Network of the Year 2006". In June 2008, the RhineMainNeckar Automotive cluster was honoured at the first cluster competition organised in Hesse. The cluster currently has 550 registered members.
Visit automotive-cluster.org for more information.
Commercial Vehicle cluster
To be at the forefront of the commercial vehicle sector as an alliance is also the aim of the Commercial Vehicle cluster, which is based in Kaiserslautern. Around a quarter of the national turnover achieved by the commercial vehicle industry is generated in southern Rhineland-Palatinate and western Baden-Württemberg. Here the proportion of the workforce is commensurate in comparison with the nationwide employment figures for the sector. The conditions for attaining the targeted leading position in international competition are favourable: The southwest of Germany has a huge potential with regard to the technologies and production of trucks, agricultural and construction machinery and coaches, as well as their components. The Commercial Vehicle cluster (CVC) is a unique opportunity for the sector to raise its profile. The CVC is a communication platform for all partners involved, either now or in the future, in designing, developing, manufacturing, servicing and operating commercial vehicles. It serves as a co-operation platform between manufacturers, suppliers, outfitters, service providers, qualifiers and researchers, as well as for the political arena.
The associates of Commercial Vehicle Cluster Nutzfahrzeug GmbH, together with the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, are in equal measure Daimler AG, John Deere-Lanz Verwaltungs-AG, euro engineering AG, Grammer AG and Kirchhoff Holding GmbH & Co. KG.
Visit cv-cluster.com for more information.
