Industries & Clusters
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- Industries & Clusters
From young up-and-comers to world market leaders, the Neckar-Alb region is dominated by mid-size companies working in a diverse range of business areas. The following six industries represent our business location's key economic areas. Use this overview to learn more about the Neckar-Alb's myriad activities and achievements in these highly innovative economic sectors.
The plant and mechanical engineering industry is the most important economic factor in the Neckar-Alb region. Producers of automation solutions tend to work primarily in the areas of vehicle manufacturing, textiles, and medical technology. Future areas of focus for the mechanical engineering industry include nano and surface technologies, lightweight solutions, sensors, image processing, measurement technology, and system integration.
Together with the University Hospital Tübingen (UKT) and other development institutions, more than 75 internationally networked companies form the core of the Neckar-Alb region’s medical technology cluster. Located in the heart of Baden-Württemberg, our region is bordered by the economic region of Stuttgart to the north and the medical technology region of Tuttlingen to the south.
In the traditional textile region on the Zollernalb and around Reutlingen and Tübingen, specialists for technical textiles have settled alongside world-renowned fashion labels. Germany is currently the world market leader in the export of technical textiles, followed by the USA and China. The infrastructure with textile machinery manufacturers and textile suppliers in Neckar-Alb provides the ideal framework for innovation.
The Neckar-Alb region is located in the middle of “Car Country” Baden-Württemberg. Here, about 200 companies and 27,000 employees play their part in the region’s automotive value chain. Thanks to the region’s various research institutions and universities, automotive suppliers like Bosch, Elring-Klinger, Automotive Lighting, Eissmann, Zeltwanger, and Schiller are sure to find highly qualified professionals and a friendly environment for innovation.
What exactly makes the Neckar-Alb region an internationally recognized site for biotechnology? First and foremost, it’s a scientific environment that focuses on business-oriented research and development in all aspects of biotechnology. The Natural and Medical Sciences Institute (NMI) at the University of Tübingen brings fresh impetus that reaches far beyond regional borders.
Skilled crafts and trades, with its many small and medium-sized businesses, are regarded as the backbone of the national economy and are sources of growth and employment. The region of the Chamber of Crafts Reutlingen with the districts of Freudenstadt, Reutlingen, Sigmaringen, Tübingen and Zollernalb generates annual sales of 9.2 billion euros.
As part of the ‚Technologieachse Süd‘, the Neckar-Alb region offers excellent breeding ground for innovative applications of artificial intelligence. The basis for this is the proximity of our colleges, which are strong in research, to applicants from industries ans SMEs. This unique combination ensures a considerable diversity of data - ideal for artificial intelligence applications.